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I left a warm flock of river friends at Cooper’s Landing on April 14, headed for Montana. My daughter, Haley Moreland, and dear friend, Jeannie Kuntz, a.k.a., the LoveYourBigMuddy Support Team, traveled with me for six days before arriving in Livingston, MT, at the home of Norm Miller and Kristin Walker, a.k.a, Base Camp International, on April 20.

Meeting and hugging Norm for the first time. Kristin and Jeannie, too. Hugs all around. Fun! (April 20)

Nearly 5 months to the day, on September 16, I paddled into Cooper’s Landing to the warm arms and paddles of my friends and family, and reporters, too. Oh, what a wonderful day this was to celebrate completing two thirds of this Missouri River Source-to-Sea Expedition. Originally, I planned to paddle from St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico in 2014. I changed my mind while paddling across Lake Francis Case.

Yep, paddle through to the Gulf. It just makes sense.

Well, it took a little while to evaluate the change in plan, and in the end, I decided it was the right thing to do. So, I am taking a week-long break to tend to numerous tasks, preparations, and responsibilities (The week has passed and tomorrow I launch already, Wednesday, September 25).

This link should take you to a video of my arrival at Cooper’s Landing on September 16: (Thank you, Karen Rush)

First time I’ve seen my daughter, Haley, since May 1. (Photo by Melanie Cheney)KOMU TV shot a clip. (Photo by Melanie Cheney)My landing at Cooper’s Landing made it in the Columbia Daily Tribune.

As I came a’paddlin’ down the river, I saw Roger and Barb Giles’ sternwheeler way off in the distance. I thought maybe I was looking at a rock outcropping on the bank, but no, it was the sternwheeler. They reached me just above Rocheport and honored me with a cannon shot in the air. Wow! Feeling pretty special.

The Joseph M. LaBarge

Then, a mother and her three children were standing on the bank of the river hooping and hollering for me and the expedition. They were enthusiastic and excited. That got me excited. We exchanged hand waves.

This little girl was one of the children waving as I paddled by.

An indiscreet canoe with two shady characters paddled nearby. “Hey, I think I know you! Are you Jodi and Megan??? Well, yes you are, I know you!” Finally, these two pirate-ettes turned around and smiled. I had just met Megan in Glasgow when Scott and I camped. We all went out to dinner together. And, Jodi is an active volunteer for Missouri River Relief. Fantastic! We paddled together downstream.

Megan in front, Jodi taking up the rear (Photo by Melanie Cheney)

Soon, we approached Airplane Island, across the river from the Huntsdale Ramp. I knew Steve Schnarr and Melanie Cheney were waiting for me at the island. I could see them. Great. However, they were only decoys for what suprise lay ahead. All of a sudden, kayaks and canoes came peeling out from behind a wing dike headed right for me. Oh my goodness! I was soon surrounded and taken down river to Cooper’s ramp, where a robust reception awaited. What a heart warming welcome. A fabulous reception and party ensued. This was a memorable day on the expedition. I live within one of the greatest river communities along the Big Muddy. I am so proud.

Pirates Assembling (Photo by Gale Lauber Johnson)

Since my arrival, I have been interviewing, repairing gear, dealing with pet issues, visiting friends (a little), spending time with family, attending Scott’s victory finish, updating my journal, cleaning the house, dehydrating veggies, restocking food, organizing photos, washing clothes, paying bills, and researching river maps and websites. I still have lots to do. I want to clean the boat, reorganize my load, replace rudder cables, apply new keel strip, update the blog, understand my GPS, read, and purchase gear, such as a marine radio for communicating with tugs and freighters. Oh, and take the dogs for a walk down by the river.

My baby, Rio Oso, River Bear

I am very excited to be heading out to paddle the Mississippi River. Both of my brothers worked on tugboats back in the 70s. One brother used to tell me to get a job on a tug as a cook. He LOVED working as a deck hand. I was too young, I thought, at 19. At 25 y/o I got a job cooking on a purse seine boat in SE Alaska one summer/fall season. After that experience, I went back to STL and tried to get a job on a tug as a cook. This was in the mid-80s, and their was a drastic reduction in barge traffic with grain embargoes in the south. It is time, at last, to meet the Mississippi.

Barges on the Mississippi, taken when I went to St. Louis, September 21, to celebrate Scott Mestrezat’s successful journey as the first Stand Up Paddleboarder to navigate the entire Missouri River, 2300 miles!

I really enjoyed driving to St. Louis with Haley to see Scott Mestrezat complete the first ever Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Expedition down the entire length of the Missouri River. I was fortunate to have paddled many days with Scott, and I now consider him a dear friend. Congratulations, Scott! Well done, my friend.

Scott was always good company. Entertaining, to say the least.

I was also excited to see my other river brothers, Reed and Josh, with whom I was also fortunate enough to paddle several days on the river. They started at Three Forks and are heading down to the Gulf of Mexico. I will be just over a week behind them. We all share river blood, and I also consider them my brothers, even though I’m old enough to be their mother. Topping off a great visit to the big city was a quick visit with someone I admire greatly, and that is Shane Perrin, SUP paddler extraordinaire.

Scott Mestrezat landing his SUP in St. Louis after paddling 2300 miles.Shane Perrin looking on.My river brothers, L-R, Josh, Scott, Reed, then me in St. Louis at Scott’s historic finish.Shane Perrin, whom I adore. I will see him again when I paddle through St. Louis this week-end, September 29. He is planning to paddle with me a ways, and possibly put me up for the night. I look forward to meeting his family.

Today is Tuesday, September 24, and I am shoving off tomorrow morning to finish off this last leg of my historic expedition. I have barely enough time to do everything needed, and so I anticipate this day and evening will fly by. Oh, it will be good to be back on the water. Life will be simple and rewarding for at least another five weeks. Oh what a trip it has been!

Sunset at Cooper’s Landing. Some of the most beautiful sunsets on the rivercan be found right here at home.

I hope to fill in the rest of my trip as I am able. Thanks again for your patience.

Janet Moreland, a solo kayaker attempting to paddle the length of the Missouri River, shared this photo on her Facebook page on June 27. She wrote of it: “Tuesday night’s sunset. Perhaps the most spectacular I have ever witnessed. Perhaps.”

¦ COURTESY JANET MORELAND/MISSOURIAN READER

BY JANET MORELAND/MISSOURIAN READER

Janet Moreland is attempting to become the first woman to complete a solo kayak trip down the entire length of the Missouri River, from its source at Brower’s Spring, Mont., to its juncture with the Mississippi at St. Louis. She has been sharing updates on her trip on her journey’s Facebook page and blog, and she gave the Missourian permission to share some of those posts.

Greetings from Fort Peck Lake! Oh what a trip it has been! I’ve experienced ‘breathtaking’ beauty, fought off ‘fear’ of predation, dealt with extreme mud anxiety, survived a wilderness electrical storm, fell in love with the animals, and elements, of the natural world, developed efficient use of time, met really cool people with giving hearts, and paddled hard for the last two weeks. I am sharing my days with high wind advisories but hope to reach the marina in a day or two. I will try and post more in the morning while I have a tower in range here at the Pines Recreation Area. I’ll be back!

Before embarking on this expedition, I would explain to journalists that I thought the trip would be more mental than physical. This is true in part. You need mental stamina to maintain the physical exertion needed for continuous paddling. And, you need mental strength to maintain composure when dealing with lots of mud, all the time.

This photo was taken prior to packing up the boat at Gist Camp in the Breaks, my last camp in the Monument. There was five feet of this mud between the semi-solid shore and the boat after I was able to move the boat out to the water once the river level dropped. Whatya gonna do?! You just do it.

June 18

Have I told you lately how much I love my pelicans?

June 21

Near Frazer, MT. Sweet.

June 26

Milestone sign after two months in Montana. [Fort Union. I bushwacked through a willow forest to get here from the river.]

June 27

Tuesday night’s sunset. Perhaps the most spectacular I have ever witnessed. Perhaps.

June 30

This is a view of where we are headed as soon as the wind dies. The veteran paddlers, with their words of wisdom, tell me, “Paddle when the wind is not blowing, no matter what time it is.” Having someone to paddle with as darkness envelopes the lake will offer additional paddling time for me. Also, the shoreline is not muddy, so finding a campsite is much easier. Simple pleasures!! [Sharing time with my new dear friend, Shawn Hollingsworth, at this location. Learn more about his expedition on Facebook at Canoe for a Cause, raising awareness for breast cancer.]

July 2

Found a nice spot on a point at a big bay entrance (the bay goes right). I like to be able to look at the stretch ahead, and feel the wind. What a gorgeous day for paddling, all day! So thankful. So tired.

July 4

Time to move. Here’s to our independence! Cheers! Love to all.

July 5

Something sweet and special about this little beach. Sand and rock, level spots close to water, somewhat protected, nice beach, maybe swimming, no mud, no cows, no road, no trucks, and situated right on the pulse of the lake. If it thunderstorms, I’m good. [I did, in fact, experience a wicked electrical storm this night. I survived. However, it was tame compared to the electrical storm I survived four nights ago on the Missouri River near Stanton, ND.]

July 8

I feel like I should salute this point, or something. Don’t know it’s name. Kind of majestic.

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Haley took this video as I began to prepare for the bicycle leg of this journey.

This video was taken the third day on the last stretch, Highway 15, before arriving at Clark Canyon Dam. The weather bureau had forecasted high wind warnings. I decided to try and see how far I could get. No problem!
(I will have to get some of her videos from days one and two. I can’t seem to find any. The scenery was spectacular.)

And finally, riding over Clark Canyon Dam to end the bicycling leg of the expedition, 100 miles total. My support girls were awesome the entire trip. I sure miss you, Haley and Jeannie!

Giant-sized “Thank You” to all of those who support this expedition. These photos were taken by Dennis Dye:

And this one was taken by a fisherman waiting to put his boat in the water:

L-R: My daughter Haley, Jim, me, and Tom.

Thank you, Jim Karpowicz for producing such a sweet film, and thanks to Tom Newcomb of Black Truck Pictures for providing some really fancy equipment that raised the product quality. And, for hanging out, without complaint, on a cold and blustery day on the River. Really cold day on the River.

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LoveYourBigMuddy Expedition

My name is Janet Moreland. I am a Missouri River paddler from Columbia, MO, most often found at or near Cooper's Landing, Rivermile 170.

I graduated from the University of Missouri in December 2012 with a degree in Education, and am now certified to teach middle school social studies and/or science.

In December, 2013, I completed a 3,800-mile source-to-sea solo kayak expedition from the Missouri River source at Brower's Spring, Montana, to the Gulf of Mexico. On April 24, 2013, I skied into the source at 9,000 ft. in the Centennial Mountains, and arrived via South Pass at the Gulf of Mexico on December 5, 2013. My mission included elements of empowerment, education, and environmental stewardship.

In 2016 I successfully completed a solo kayak expedition from the Mississippi River source at Lake Itasca, MN, down to the Gulf of Mexico. And, in 2017 I solo journeyed the entire Yukon River from the Llewellyn Glacier on Atlin Lake, British Columbia, to the Bering Sea at Emmonak, AK.

It is believed that I am the first person ever to successfully solo kayak, from source to sea, the three longest rivers on the North American continent.

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The journey is not over until the mission bears fruit:
Empowerment ~ Education ~ Environment

I reached the Gulf of Mexico on December 5, 2013.

Thanks to everyone for their heartfelt support. This was OUR expedition, and for that I am grateful.

Here is a synopsis:
I completed the challenging yet successful ski into
Brower’s Spring with Norm Miller on April 24-25.

I completed three days of incredible
bike riding 100 miles from Hell Roaring Canyon
To Clark Canyon Dam.

I paddled down the Beaverhead River from Clark Canyon Dam to Twin Bridges, where the river worked me hard and I suffered two holes in my boat and a sprained wrist by the second day.

From Twin Bridges, the Beaverhead River turns into the Jefferson River, which is deeper and wider, and one of the more beautiful stretches of this journey. This leg of the journey is neatly tucked under my belt.

I arrived in Three Forks, the headwaters of the Missouri River, on Saturday, May 11, approximately 300 miles downstream from the ultimate source, Brower’s Spring.

I spent the next four months paddling down the Missouri River, stopping at my home base, Cooper’s Landing, on September 16.

My birthday on September 28 marked my arrival in St. Charles, and I paddled through the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers the next day, September 29.

Proceeding down the Mississippi River, I arrived in Memphis, TN, on October 17. Here, I took an extended break of two weeks because of a speaking engagement I flew out to in Bend, OR, at the Conservation Lands Foundation ‘Friends Rendezvous.’

November 1 found me on my way again down the Mississippi River until December 5 when I reached the Gulf of Mexico.

Oh, what a trip it was!

Then, I couldn’t leave the upper Mississippi untouched, so I paddled the whole thing in 2016, Lake Itasca to the Gulf.

Might as well make it a Triple Crown, so I paddled the Yukon River, source to sea, Llewellyn Glacier, B.C., to Emmonak, AK, at the Bering Sea in 2017!

Do what you love and love what you do.

I now want to start writing my book about paddling the Missouri-Mississppi, LoveYourBigMuddy Expedition. Stay tuned.